Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910)



Norwegian writer, editor, and theatre director, known with Henrik Ibsen, Alexander Kielland and Jonas Lie as one of the "four great ones" of 19th-century Norwegian literature. Bjørnson campaigned widely for liberal and national ideals, and became an extremely popular national figure. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903. A friend and rival of Ibsen, he also wrote plays of social realism. However, his fame since his death has diminished in relation to Ibsen.

--Knut Aakre tossed back his disorderly hair, his eyes darted fire, his whole frame appeared like a drawn bow.
--"What sort of a blessing this is that you speak of, I have already proved. It is of the same character as all the others which you have brought to the parish, namely, a doubtful one. True enough, you have provided us with a new church; but, too, you have filled it with a new spirit . and not one of love. True, you have made us new roads - but also new roads to destruction, as is now plainly evident in the misfortunes of many. True, you have lessened our taxes to the public; but, too, you have increased those to ourselves; prosecutions, protests, and failures are no blessing to a community.." (from 'The Railway and the Churchyard')
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was born in Kvikne, in northern Hedmark, the son of Peder Bjørnson, a Lutheran pastor, and Elise Nordraak, a merchant's daughter. In 1849 he went to Christiania (now Oslo) to prepare for the university's entrance exams. He entered the university in 1852 but soon abandoned his studies and joined the cultural scene. He became a theatre and literary critic for the Christiania daily Morgenbladet and later edited Illustreret Folkeblad.

In 1857 Bjørnson succeeded Ibsen as director of the Norske Theater in Bergen. He married in 1858 Karoline Reimers, an actress. Their son Bjørn became an actor, and a daughter Bergljot married Ibsen's son Sigurd. Bjørnson returned to Oslo in 1859 and worked for Aftenbladet, where his liberal editorials finally led to his resignation. To promote new theater and to safeguard its interests Ibsen and Bjørnson organized in 1859 the 'Norwegian Society for Theater, Music, and Language.' His first noteworthy stories Bjørnson wrote in the late1850s. They were often set in the idyllic rural milieu, in which the sun shines in a bright midsummer sky. Although he romantically idealized peasants, he also depicted their everyday work and festivities. Among his best works from this period is the short novel ARNE written in 1859. Its young protagonist, a poet, expressed much of Bjørnson’s own longing for faraway places.

"Hans tanker blev stærkere og drev in i visen: "Over de høje fjælle". Så snare hadde aldrig ordene været, ej heller hadde de føjet sig så sikkert i lag; de var næsten som jænter, der sat rundt på en haug. Han hadde et stykke papir hos sig, og han skrev ned over sit knæ. Og da han hadde skrevet visen færdig, rejste han sig som forløst, vilde ikke til folk, men tok skogvejen hjæmover, skjønt han visste, at da måtte han ta natten med." (from Arne, 1859)
In the short story 'The Railway and the Churchyard' two friends are separated by their different views of progress. Knut Aakre belongs to an old and influential family. He is chairman of the parish commissioners, but also protects his family interests. Contrary to his secret wishes his neighbour Lars Hogstad supports a proposal to establish a savings bank. The decision turn out to be far-sighted and it brings prosperity to the parish. Years later Lars realizes that his bank will fail if a new railway is not built - railway will raise all real estate prices. Knut opposes in vain his plans to build it through the old, now unused, churchyard, the only place it can go. Lars sees the train working through the valley as a strong force, and remembers his grandfather who raised the family from poverty to comfortable circumstances. "... true, a part of his honour as a citizen had been lost, but he had pushed forward, nevertheless. His faults were those of his time; they were to be found on the uncertain borders of the moral conceptions of that period, and are of no consideration now." Sparks from the passing locomotive start a fire and burn down Lars's house, but Knut is the first to help him. Lars is again elected the chairman of the parish, but with Knut at his side.

In the much anthologized story 'The Father' Bjørnson again examined the conflict between the public good and individual commitment. Thord Overaas is the wealthiest and most influential person in the parish and proud of his son. He meets the priest only when he is baptised, then sixteen years later when he is confirmed - and the third time when he is going to marry the richest girl of the region. When the priest notices that Thord has not changed over the years he answers: "That is because I have no troubles." Before the wedding his son drowns. Thord sells half of his farm and gives the money to the poor. The priest says: "I think your son has at last brought you a true blessing."

Between 1860 and 1863 Bjørnson lived abroad, mostly in Italy, and after his return was appointed director of the Christiania Theater (1865-1867). From 1866 to 1871 he was editor of the Norsk folkeblad, which he made the mouthpiece for his ideas on political and social reform. Bjørnson's involvement in cultural and political battles marked his fiction, in which his urge to teach his readers occasionally guided his pen more than artistic aims.

As a playwright Bjørnson first gained notice in the late 1850s with historical dramas. Among his works were MELLEM SLAGENE (1857), HALTE HULDA (1858), KONG SVERRE (1861), SIGURD SLEMBE (1863), and MARIA STUART I SKOTLAND (1864). One of the central themes in his plays was the cultural continuity between the pre-Christian Norway and modern day society. In the 1860s he also published poetry, and from his DIGTE OG SANGE many poems were later set to music. Bjørnson's interest in the life of peasants was reflected in his novels SYNNØVE SOLBACKEN (1857), and EN GLAD GUT (1860). While in Rome, he came under the influence of Georg Brandes. Bjørnson turned from folk themes to social questions and contemporary issues. The most successful of these was EN FALLIT (1875), which attacked dishonesty in business.

As an active participant in political and cultural battles, Bjørnson's views about church and religion were much debated. After reading Hippolyte Taine, Charles Darwin and others, he made known his rejection of formal religion. This and his political views brought against him a charge of high treason. In the 1870s and '80s Bjørnson spent long times abroad and in 1881 he visited the United States. His best works from this and later periods include the 'problem' plays REDAKT ØREN (1875), exploring journalism, EN HANDSKE (1883), which led to a break between Bjørnson and Brandes, OVER ÆVNE (1886), an attack on dogmatism, and the novels DET FLAGER I BYEN OG PÅ HAVNEN (1892) and PÅ GUDS VEJE (1889), both of which are concerned with the problems of heredity and education. PAUL LANGE OG TORA PARSPERG (1898) was based on the events surrounding the suicide of Ole Richter, one-time friend of the author.

In 1888 Bjørnson visited Finland - his first story about peasants was translated into Finnish as early as in 1862. During this journey he was received everywhere as a hero, and he met writers such as Juhani Aho, who wrote three long articles about his visit, and Sakari Topelius. On many occasions in the following years Bjørnson also expressed his support of Finland's struggle against Russification. In 1893 Bjørnson settled on a farm, travelling from there to Denmark, France, Germany, and Italy. He wrote of the evils of industrialization, defended oppressed minorities and joined Emile Zola in the famous Dreyfus Affair. Although paralysed on one side, he continued working until his death in Paris on April 26, 1910. Bjørnson's novels in 13 volumes were published in an English translation edited by Edmund Gosse between the years 1895 and 1909.